An Update and An Invitation

Hello Friends and Family!

I pray you are all doing well, and as always, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to open and read this short update from my family and I. It is such a blessing to know there are people who love us and care about what is going on with our ministry!

Our Step of Faith

Last month marked the one year anniversary of my family taking the step of faith to come on staff with SGWM. And while we had prayed for years for the opportunity to take a “full-time” ministry role with Saving Grace, it was a step of faith indeed. Because I work in part for Calvary Chapel Saving Grace’s Yorba Linda ministry, the church pays a portion of my salary. But because the other half of my work here is for Saving Grace World Missions, the other portion of my salary comes from us raising financial support. It’s been an amazing season of doing work so closely associated with with the heart of the Great Commission (you can read more about all of those things in our blog updates), but it has been a great step of faith to rethink the way God provides for us financially.

Why Financial Supporters?

Because I have such an active role in the “home” ministries of Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, many people don’t know that much of my work is actually for SGWM, and so I raise financial support like any other SGWM missionary. That may seem strange for someone who does not actually live abroad as a missionary! But this is the norm for our SGWM Home Office staff for a number of reasons. Our work here in Yorba Linda for SGWM is crucial for the success of our international ministries and missionaries, and therefore we know that we are just as much involved in the work of missions as they are. Living off of financial support also gives us a greater identification with our missionaries on the field, as this aspect of being a missionary is by far one of the most difficult and uncomfortable. And above all, by raising support from financial donors who want to support our ministries, we can keep the actual costs to SGWM and administrative fees to affiliate missionaries lower and we can use SGWM financial resources for other needs connected to our mission of reaching the nations for Christ.

Can I Be Honest?

In all honesty, I struggled greatly with the idea of writing this update, as support raising is one of the hardest things for missionaries to do. As our family grows we have realized that we are in need of more monthly financial supporters. We have been praying fervently for the Lord to provide all that we need. But, as we at SGWM encourage all of our missionaries to do, we also know that we need to present our needs to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We sincerely ask that you would pray for us in this area, and, if you are so led by the Spirit, we’d ask you to pray about whether the Lord would have you join our ministry through financial support. We would absolutely LOVE to spend some time talking with you about our ministry if you want to hear more! Please feel free to call, text, or email me and I’d be delighted to set up a time with you over coffee or in the office to talk about my family’s role with SGWM! I’ve included my contact info at the very bottom of this update.

If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.